Sara Margaret Lewis Howell

SARA MARGARET LEWIS HOWELL, 87, our beloved mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, died Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. She was born Oct. 5, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Irene Siegfried Lewis and Ira Thomas Lewis. She grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, graduating 70 years ago from Ashtabula High. After earning a medical technology degree from The Ohio State University, Sara worked in hospital laboratories in Ashtabula; Tucson, Ariz.; Dearborn, Mich.; and Albuquerque, N.M. In Albuquerque, she married Robert Howell, a bacteriologist from upstate New York. She and her husband and their three young children also lived briefly in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., before moving to Little Rock in 1969, where her husband was a health department laboratory administrator. A one-time golfer and lifelong gardener, Sara delighted in being outdoors. She grew vegetables, depending on compost and pet rabbits to nurture her organic gardens. While she reminisced about her youth on the Lake Erie shore, she appreciated Arkansas' long growing season. She was a collector – joking that her newspapers and magazines on gardening, nutrition and house remodeling were "a monument to a slow reader." She was quick to laugh. She enjoyed the radio, audio books and public television programs. Sara, a Presbyterian, was wholeheartedly devoted to her family. She is predeceased by her parents and husband. She is survived by daughters Cynthia Oman (Noel) of Little Rock and Claire Levine (Drake) of North Little Rock, and son Robert Howell of Little Rock. Other survivors are a grandson, Brendan Oman of Little Rock, and a cousin, Mary Ann Siegfried of East Hampton, N.Y. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth Funeral Home, 5800 W. 12th St. A grave-side funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Pine Crest Memorial Park, 7401 Highway 5. Sara would be pleased to have donations made in her memory to the AETN Foundation, 350 S. Donaghey Ave., Conway, AR 72034. Please send your condolonces to www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.